Advice on submitting abstracts to research conferences:

  • discuss with your research advisor which meetings would be good targets for you to present your research
  • at least a month before the abstract deadline, meet with your advisor again to talk about your plans
    • for most national-level meetings you need at least some preliminary results to be able to submit an abstract
  • if you get the OK from your advisor, check whether you should first apply for membership or a member account prior to submitting an abstract
  • submit a near final draft of your abstract to your advisor at least 10 days before the deadline
    • using Word or Google documents facilitates editing
    • use an informative filename, include your name, meeting, year and version
    • the type of meeting should determine the level of scientific detail and background information in your abstract (SCCUR will be very different from SSA, for example)
    • include a title and all co-authors (try and have a different title for each abstract, this looks better on your resume)
    • investigate which session you want to submit the abstract to and include this information as well
    • you may need keywords, or other information, check and include
    • useful read: A Guide to Writing an AGU Abstract
  • after a going back and forth on a few more versions with your advisor you will arrive at a final version, this should be 3 days before the deadline
    • make sure to send this version and title to all other co-authors several days before the submission deadline for their input
  • submit your final abstract at least 1-2 days prior to the abstract submission deadline
  • let your advisor know that you have submitted the abstract successfully
  • save the receipt for abstract submission and any other receipts for membership or registration
    • even if you do not have a reimbursement source lined up right now, that might change in the future

Important:

  • NEVER submit an abstract without your advisor's approval
  • NEVER submit an abstract without listing your advisor as a co-author, unless this is a very special case that you both discussed prior to submission
  • ALWAYS tell all of your co-authors about your submission at least a few days ahead of time and provide them with a title and final abstract
  • NEVER wait until the day of the deadline to submit
  • ALWAYS check before submission what the requirements are: you may need a user account which can take days to set up or you may have to be a member in an organization, etc.
  • Check throughout the year for travel funding opportunities: admin fund, OUR, MENTORES.... Deadlines vary and can be after or before the meeting actually takes place.